Each semester, professors are finding that BibleWorks can help them in the classroom. Below, we've assembled tips for using BibleWorks in the classroom.

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Previous Classroom Tips

Tip 1.1: Name that Noun

It's easy to create a simple classroom exercise to test your students' parsing and lemma identification skills using the search and highlighting features in BibleWorks. In this classroom exercise the students identify the lemma and parsing of the highlighted Greek or Hebrew words that you display on screen. Click here for the tip.

Tip 1.2: Using Lexicons in BibleWorks 7

The BibleWorks integration of Greek and Hebrew lexicons allows students to find the information they need very quickly, so that they can spend more time interpreting the Biblical text and less time turning pages. Below you will find some of the useful ways you can use lexicons in BibleWorks. Click here for the tip.

Tip 1.3: Displaying Larger Fonts for On-Screen Display

Unless you teach in a very small classroom, you will probably need to increase the font size in BibleWorks for on-screen presentation. Here are the instructions for changing the font size in the main BibleWorks windows. Click here for the tip.

The BibleWorks Search Window contains 12 tabbed Search Windows. The tabs provide a way to switch rapidly between study contexts without losing the previous context. The tabs can also function as an instruction tool for proper word study method.

In this Classroom Tip we will provide strategies for setting up and using the tabs in the classroom and in your study. We will also show how to save your tabs configurations for future use and distribution to other BibleWorks users. Included are links to saved context files that you can download and use in your classroom. Click here for the tip.

Tip 1.6: Working Quickly on the Command Line

One of the benefits of BibleWorks is its great speed, not only in its rapid searches, but in how fast and easy it is to perform your most common tasks. One of the keys to working quickly in BibleWorks is using shortcuts on the Command Line. Click here for the tip.

Tip 1.7 Highlight Words Used 50 or More Times

You can use the search and text marking tools in BibleWorks to produce graded reading assignments or translation exercises. This tip will allow you to easily display the words of a higher frequency range in contrast to lower frequency words in the Greek New Testament. Click here for the tip.

Tip 1.8: Creating User Notes for Classroom Teaching

Create teaching notes and class handouts rapidly using the BibleWorks User Notes, Editor, and Report Generator tools. Quickly open BibleWorks lexicons and grammars to the precise section you want to show to your students using the unique linking features in the BibleWorks Editor. Click here for the tip.

Tip 1.9: Using the BibleWorks Maps Module

The BibleWorks Map Module offers a quick way to display geographical information in the classroom. Learn how to access maps for classroom display and for export to presentation software or a word processor. Click here for the tip.

Tip 1.10: Studying Parallel Passages

It is common for professors to teach concerning the parallel passages in the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. The most common types of parallel passages taught include the Hebrew Bible parallels, Synoptic Gospel parallels, and the use of the OT in the NT. Click here for the tip.

Tip 1.11: Typing and Display of Hebrew

Searching, taking notes or developing assignments may call for typing in Hebrew. This Classroom Tip offers some tips for working with the Hebrew font and text display in BibleWorks. Click here for the tip.

Tip 1.12: Using the Graphical Search Engine

The Graphical Search Engine (GSE) is a powerful search engine that can perform many searches that cannot be done on the Command Line. In this Classroom Tip we will use the GSE to search for occurrences of the specific location in a clause of a postpositive word (gar) in the Greek New Testament. How many times does gar appear in the second and third position in the clause? Does it ever appear in the fourth position? Click here for the tip.

Tip 1.13: Changing the Verse List Sort Order

After you perform a search, the verse list in the Search Window shows your search hits sorted according to a generally-accepted book order, Genesis through Revelation. But perhaps you are teaching a class on Philippians, and consistently want to view the search results in Philippians before viewing the rest of the search results? In this Classroom Tip we will look at how to change the verse list sort order and describe some sort order strategies that you may find useful in your classroom and for personal study. Click here for the tip.

Tip 1.14: Working with the Verse List Manager

The Verse List Manager enables you to save search results, compare them, and re-use them in other tasks in BibleWorks. This classroom tip highlights several ways to create verse lists and shows how to use the Verse List Manager to extract verse references from electronic documents for viewing and for searching within BibleWorks. Click here for the tip.

Tip 1.15: Command Line Search Tips

The Command Line is the primary BibleWorks search tool. It provides powerful search capabilities, is easy to use for most searches, and is easy to access for a quick search. In this Classroom Tip we will investigate some of the lesser-known search capabilities of the Command Line for searching on Greek and Hebrew, especially in the morphologically-tagged texts. Two powerful tools for searching on the Command Line are wildcards and range operators. Click here for the tip.

Tip 1.16 Using the Graphical Search Engine: Part 2

The Graphical Search Engine is a powerful, though sometimes overlooked, search tool. This Classroom Tip builds upon Tip 1.12 and explores more of the useful search features you can use to enhance your classroom teaching and preparation. In this Classroom Tip we will use the Graphical Search Engine to find different ways that an adjective can relate to a noun when an article is present in the relationship. Click here for the tip.

Tip 2.1: Using Grammars in BibleWorks

An important part of the exegetical process is the proper understanding of the grammar and syntax of the passage. In this Classroom Tip we will see how to use grammars as exegetical tools within BibleWorks. Click here for the tip.

Tip 2.2: Greek and Hebrew Devotional

A new tool in BibleWorks 8 is the Daily Light devotional. This new tool can not only provide daily inspiration from the Bible, but can also be used to refresh and enhance knowledge of Greek and Hebrew. Click here for the tip.

Tip 2.3: Analysis Window Frequency Filter

The Analysis Window displays parsing information and lexicon entries for Greek and Hebrew words. But there are times where it would be useful to hide information for frequently-occurring words in order to encourage vocabulary learning. The new Analysis Window Frequency Filter enables you to turn off display of information for frequently-occurring words... Click here for the tip.

Tip 2.4: Tools for a Word-Level Perspective

BibleWorks contains a variety of tools for viewing and interpreting a Bible passage. In this Classroom Tip we will give an overview of some BibleWorks tools--some old and some new--for viewing the passage and gaining information for better interpretation from a word-level perspective. This Classroom Tip also introduces a variety of BibleWorks word-level perspective tools within a framework of what type of information they provide, and gives a brief explanation of their benefit to the interpretive process. Click here for the tip.

Tip 2.5: Tools for a Passage-Level Perspective

BibleWorks contains a variety of tools for viewing and interpreting a Bible passage. In this Classroom Tip we will give an overview of some BibleWorks tools--some old and some new--for viewing the passage and gaining information for better interpretation from a passage-level perspective. Click here for the tip.

Tip 2.6: Tools for a Canonical Perspective

This Classroom Tip introduces a variety of BibleWorks canonical perspective tools and briefly explains their benefit to the interpretive process. Click here for the tip.

Tip 2.7: Benefits of Setting Search Limits

One of the useful features in BibleWorks is the ability to set search limits. This Classroom Tip gives examples of useful search limit strategies and the benefits of using these search limits in your study and classroom. Click here for the tip.

Tip 2.8: Using Checkboxes to Set a Search Limit

In a previous Classroom Tip we discussed a variety of search limits strategies. In this Classroom Tip we introduce two new features, the Search Window Checkboxes feature and the Command Line Checkbox Search Filter feature. By using these new features you can refine your current searches and create new searches on the Command Line that were not possible previously. Click here for the tip.

Tip 2.9: Using Checkboxes to Create Verse Lists

A common BibleWorks task is creating verse lists. In this Classroom Tip we look at the new Search Window Checkboxes feature, and demonstrate how useful it is for creating verses lists. Click here for the tip.

Tip 3.1 Listing Hebrew Verbs in a Passage

With the KWIC Module you can create lists of words according to the order in which they appear in a passage. This feature is useful for creating word lists for students learning Hebrew and Greek. This Classroom Tip shows how to create a table of Hebrew verbs from the book of Ruth chapter 1, with the first column showing the inflected form, and the second column providing the corresponding lemma. Each column will show the verbs in the order in which they appear in Ruth chapter 1. Click here for the tip.

Tip 3.2 KWIC Module and Prepositional Phrases

The KWIC (Key Word in Context) Module is an easy-to-use tool that provides some unique search and display capabilities. In this Classroom Tip we will use the KWIC Module to locate prepositional phrases and identify the most common objects of the preposition. Click here for the tip.

Tip 3.3 Using Word Lists as Search Tools

Word lists can be used as powerful search tools in BibleWorks 8. In this Classroom Tip we will use the new Command List Word List search feature to search on a word list to find all the participial forms of words occurring 50 times and more in the New Testament. Click here for the tip.

Tip 3.4: Semantic Domains Searches from the Command Line

Searching the Greek text by semantic domains can help you find verses with words related in meaning. In BibleWorks 8, searching by semantic domains is even easier to use, now that you can search according to semantic domain from the Command Line. This Classroom Tip describes this new search feature. Click here for the tip.

Tip 3.5: Using the Context Tab

The Context Tab provides an overview of the vocabulary used in the book, chapter, and pericope you are studying. This Classroom Tip shows how to use the Context Tab to gain useful information quickly. Click here for the tip.

Tip 3.6 Comparing Vocabulary in the Synoptic Gospels

A common task in Synoptic Gospels studies is to compare the vocabulary of the parallel pericopes. In this Classroom Tip we will look at one way you can use BibleWorks to help with this task. In this example we are trying to find all the verb lemmas that appear in more than one book within the pericope, but which do not appear in the same form. Click here for the tip.

Tip 3.7 Helpful Tools and Settings

This Classroom Tip lists a variety of tools and settings that you can adjust to make your BibleWorks experience even better. Click here for the tip.

Tip 3.8 Searching for Weak Hebrew Verbs

Biblical Hebrew contains verbs that are classified as either strong verbs or one of eleven varieties of weak verbs. In this Classroom Tip we will show how to search using the Command Line for Hebrew lemmas that are weak verbs. Click here for the tip.

Tip 3.9 Cross Version Searches

The BibleWorks base package contains a lot of different Bible versions plus many ancient texts such as Philo, Josephus, the Apostolic Fathers, Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, and the Aramaic Targums. Each of these texts is useful for performing word and background studies. In this Classroom Tip we will see how to search the Biblical text plus these ancient texts at the same time using the Command Line Cross Version Search Mode feature. Click here for the tip.

Tip 4.1 Using Verse Notes as a Topical Database

With the BibleWorks User Notes feature you can create verse notes as you study the Biblical text. New features in the BibleWorks Editor and the Report Generator let you search your verse notes, and then create verse lists and custom reports based upon the verse notes containing your search words. With these new features you can even create, search, and export your own topical database.
In this Classroom Tip we will look at how to plan your user-created Topical Database, how to create the database, how to search the database, and then provide a few ways that you can export and use your database. Click here for the tip.

Tip 4.2 Using the Resource Summary Tab

The Resource Summary Tab is a great way to access your lexicons, grammars, and other resources. The Resource Summary Tab provides rapid access to some of you most frequently used resources. In this Classroom Tip we will look at some ways to use the Resource Summary Tab, as well as ways to optimize the Resource Summary Tab for the way you study. Click here for the tip.

Tip 4.3 Changing the Display of Morphology Versions

BibleWorks contains two types of Greek and Hebrew texts: a text version like you find in a printed text, and a morphology version that lists the lemmas and parsing codes. The text version is great for reading. The morphology version is great for searching, but is very difficult to read.
In this Classroom Tip we will look at ways to move the morphology versions out of the way in the Browse Window so you have more room to view text versions, yet still retain the ability to search the morphology versions. Click here for the tip.

Tip 4.4 Using Text Highlighting

The Text Highlighting tool can be a useful tool in the classroom or for preparing class notes. In this Classroom Tip we will show a few ways that you can use the Text Highlighting tool in your teaching. Click here for the tip.

Tip 4.5 Using the Text Comparison Settings

The Text Comparison Settings Tool is a great way to compare two Bible texts and see where they differ. In this Classroom Tip we will look at ways to use this helpful tool in your classroom instruction for textual criticism and sermon preparation. Click here for the tip.

Tip 4.6 Search Window Display Options

There are many ways to configure BibleWorks to show information in the way that best suits your needs. In this Classroom Tip we will configure the Search Window in order to better skim the search results. Click here for the tip.

Tip 4.7 Command Line Verse and Word Ranges

By default, searches on the Command Line are limited to searching within a verse. In this Classroom Tip we will see how to search across verses using the Command Line. We will also see how to search for two words with a specified number of intervening words. Click here for the tip.

Tip 4.8 Finding Translation Examples

The Vocabulary Flashcard Tool is a great way for students to learn and review vocabulary. But the Vocabulary Flashcard Tool is also a great way for professors to find examples for student translation assignments. In this Classroom Tip we will see how to find verses that contain only vocabulary that the students should already know. Click here for the tip.

Tip 4.9 Creating Translation Assignments

One way to increase your students' understanding of Greek or Hebrew is through translation assignments. Graded Greek and Hebrew workbooks provide translation assignments that progress from easier to harder passages. Often included in these graded Greek and Hebrew readers are parsing and usage questions.

In this Classroom Tip we will demonstrate how to develop your own graded reader for your students. We will demonstrate how to choose an appropriate passage, how to include morphological information, and how to include definitions for uncommon words. Click here for the tip.